A biker named 'Stray Dog' postpones Granik's Ozarks exit
Granik, a 52-year-old filmmaker from New York, was in the Missouri mountains to make "Winter's Bone," the 2010 indie drama that catapulted Jennifer Lawrence to stardom and earned four Oscar nominations, including best picture.
Granik, looking for local authenticity to her film, ran after Hall and cast him as Thump Milton, the backwoods patriarch of "Winter's Bone."
Hall, a Vietnam veteran in his 60s, was skeptical but resolved it would be "pretty neat" for his kids to see him in a movie.
When shooting wrapped, Granik stopped by Hall's home and was taken by the scrappy, neighborly existence he and others in the park were eking out.
"A lot of things my truest soul is attracted to have no commercial value," says Granik, whose other projects (an HBO pilot, a Baltimore urban drama) didn't materialize.
The profound simplicity of "Stray Dog" lies in Hall's rough-hewn compassion and an open-mindedness that would surprise many, were they to motor past him on the highway.
In a country that has already begun forgetting more recent wars, Hall is still haunted by Vietnam and bound in brotherhood to fellow veterans.
Hall's vouching was also necessary for Granik (who's currently making a documentary about life after incarceration) to win over a community extremely wary of outsiders.